Maggi

About Maggi Brand

Maggi is a product that belongs to Nestle India, which is one of the leading fast food companies in the country. The various Maggi products are stocks, instant noodles, ketchups and instant soups. The major products of Maggi are Maggi Masala-ae-Magic Noodles, Maggi 2-Minute Noodles, Maggi Rice Mania, Maggi Sauces and Maggi Magic Cubes.

Maggi is a product of Nestlé India, a subsidiary of Nestlé of Switzerland. Major Maggi products that are manufactured by Nestlé include instant noodles, stocks, instant soups and ketchups. The various products of Maggi are manufactured in the seven highly technologically advanced factories of Nestlé India that are located in Moga (Punjab), Choladi (Tamil Nadu), Nanjangud (Karnataka), Samalkha (Haryana), Bicholim and Ponda (Goa), Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) and Tahliwal (Himachal Pradesh).

Various products of Maggi are as follows:

Maggi Oats Noodles

Maggi 2-Minute Noodles

Maggi Xtra-delicious Chicken Noodles

Maggi Veg Atta Noodles

Maggi Cuppa Mania

Maggi Magic Cubes

Maggi Masala-e-Magic

Maggi Pazzta

Maggi Sauces

Maggi Hungroo Noodles

Maggi Healthy Soups

Maggi Bhuna Masala

Maggi Coconut Milk Powder

Maggi Magic Cubes is one of the popular products of Maggi. It is a taste enhancer that is available in two flavours - vegetarian and chicken. Another product of Maggi is Maggi Rice Noodles Mania, which is available in various flavours – Chilly Chow, Shahi Pulao and Lemon Masala. Maggi Vegetable Atta Noodles contains real vegetables and whole wheat and is an innovative product in India. Yet another product of Maggi is Maggi Pazzta, which is pasta as the name itself suggests; it is available in four different flavours.

Maggi Healthy Soup - Sanjeevni is made with ingredients such as tomato, gooseberry (amla), spinach and almonds. Maggi Sauces are available in various flavours – Chilli Garlic, Tomato Chatpat and Tomato Pudina. Maggi 2- Minute Noodles is one of the biggest food brands in India and it is available in different flavours – Curry, Masala, Tomato and Chicken. Maggi Cuppa Mania is a specially designed cup of on-the-go noodles.

The 'Lead' and 'MSG' Controversy in Maggi and its side effects

A major controversy broke out in late May-early June 2015 pertaining to various Maggi products available in the Indian market. It was discovered in some of the tests conducted on Maggi noodles that it contained more quantity of MSG (monosodium glutamate) and lead than what is permissible by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The controversy started from Uttar Pradesh where a few samples were collected by the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) and sent to Kolkata for scrutiny. The samples were found containing high quantity of lead and MSG. UP was followed by Delhi where 10 out of the 13 samples failed the tests and the product was pronounced 'hazardous' and 'unhealthy' for humans.

The Delhi government was the first one to slap a ban on Maggi products, though just for 15 days for the time being. Soon after, various other Indian states followed Delhi by having conducted a number of tests over various Maggi products and almost all of them banned the marketing, storage and sale of Maggi. Some of the other states where Maggi is banned are Gujarat, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Uttar Pradesh. A few foreign countries have also put a stop to the import of Maggi from India. Nepal and Singapore were the first two countries to ban the import of Maggi from India following the revelations.

On the other hand, some of the renowned Indian celebrities also found themselves caught in the midst of controversy as several states proposed to penalise those who endorsed and promoted Maggi. Noted Bollywood actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit and Preity Zinta were the prime figures who had a sword of Damocles hanging over their heads. Meanwhile, the Swiss conglomerate Nestlé, the manufacturer of Maggi, recalled its stocks from the stores in several states as was directed by the respective state governments but kept denying the results of the tests, saying that Maggi was safe.

On 5 June 2015, Nestle's Global CEO Paul Bulcke held a formal press conference in New Delhi and reiterated what the company had already been maintaining that Maggi was safe. Bulcke let the media persons know that Nestlé was recalling its stocks just because the public trust was shaken due to some 'unfounded conclusions'. Bulcke though assured his cooperation to the Indian authorities by sharing testing methodologies with them. Bulcke promised to win back the trust of the consumer and bring the most popular noodle brand back to the shelves. Meanwhile the FSSAI ordered that all the nine Maggi variants be recalled from the stores and termed them 'hazardous and unsafe' for human consumption.